


A Heroes Sacrifice

by Karinchai



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 02:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18437270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karinchai/pseuds/Karinchai
Summary: She swore to protect Paris with everything she had....She didn’t know it would take that though.





	A Heroes Sacrifice

It was poetic really, Hawkmoth dragging those six to where the first Akuma battle happened all that time ago.  
Marinette counted in her head, in her heart, it had been 3 years from that moment- the moment she vowed to do whatever to protect Paris. 

There he stood, in the dusk, the final streams of the suns light being suffocated by the beautiful night. She stood with her closest comrades: Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, and her partner Chat Noir. He was currently the first to progress, a diplomatic approach falling from his mouth as she bit her lip. 

Something had changed in the way he looked at Hawkmoth after they had confirmed his civilian personality. He looked heartbroken. She didn’t pry.  
It was clear Gabriel was someone who meant something deep to him.

“I understand why you want to do this, I really do Gabriel.”  
It made her wince to hear his vulnerable, open tone, as he held his hand out as a peace offering.  
“But just come home. You need to mourn properly...” He was choosing his words so carefully, her heart pained for him.

It physically stung her when Hawkmoth slapped the hand away from him and simply snarled.  
“I can’t keep relying on some fools to dispose of you trash. Clearly I must do it myself.”  
Chat Noir’s arm hung limp at his side, looking down at the floor. There was nothing he could do.  
They both knew that. But she wanted it to work for him so deeply that it felt like having to fight was a half hearted final fix.

She didn’t know who the boy under the mask was, but oh how she wanted to protect him.

Dragged away from her momentary distraction, Ladybug’s head snapped back to Hawkmoth, whose eyes had turned a sickly black. In an instant she dashed forward in a blind panic to grab his Miraculous, but it snapped in half with a cruel metallic clink. Falling apart in the air as it crumbled to dust, a lethal dark power shoving them all away in a powerful blast. When she managed to open her eyes again, a distorted monster stood where Hawkmoth had.

It was a pitch black ooze that dripped out of every hole in the suit that had engulf the husk of a man. Black butterflies swarmed the air, purposefully avoiding the few news camera helicopters that echoed in the air, in some kind of sick obsession for Paris to watch their heroes fall. They coated the sky and flew in hordes at the heroes, forcing themselves to their feet and leaping out of the way of the torrents.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes.  
“Rena, Queen. You two on offence. Carapace, back them up and shield them where you can.”  
“Got it!”   
“Right!”  
“Let’s do this.”  
“Okay, On 3, I’m going to sneak behind with Chat. Let’s go!”  
“...” Chat looked unresponsive, but she trusted him completely to get himself together... he had to... right? She dashed forward on the mental count of three, unleashing her yo-yo and swinging around the Eiffel Tower. She built up momentum before releasing herself, flying forward with a powerful kick.   
A black wall built up suddenly, the butterflies surrounding her and practically choking her. Stopping her mid flight before spitting her out into the middle of the sky. She let out a spluttering cough as she plummeted to the floor.

At the last moment the regained her strength, grappling forward and swinging dangerously close to the floor as she released into a tumble, getting up back to her feet.  
Turning around she paled considerably. An unconscious Nino lay in front of Hawkmoth, her eyes widening as he disabled the transformation.  
“Nino!” Rena screamed, dashing forward irresponsibly as butterflies swallowed Queen Bee behind her.   
“Goddamn-“ Queen splutter coughed as she hit the floor, rolling over and coughing up a sickly amount of red. Both of the girls stared at it for a moment before Alya went flying, her Miraculous spinning off in another direction as she hit the ground.

Ladybug almost puked hearing the sickly crunch of her best friend as she numbly stood,   
“Go get her.” Queen Bee stood in front of her, walking into her line of vision. “Check she’s okay. Okay? I’ll handle this.”  
“...” Ladybug nodded as she broke out into a panicked run.  
“....Damnit Dupain-Cheng...” The blonde shook her head before dashing forward to fight alongside Chat.

She checked Alya over with an almost panicked fever. The girl wasn’t responsive, but the suit had absorbed most of the damage. It looked like the girl had a arm twisted out of its usual direction and that alone was enough to make Ladybug want to be sick.

What was she doing?   
What were they doing?  
They could die! They could...  
No, this wasn’t her. She’s here to protect all of Paris, all of France. She is Ladybug, local superhero and kickass evil fighter.  
She could fix this.

She sprinted back to the scene of the action, brandishing her yo-yo as she slunk it forward, smacking the putrid liquid as she followed up with tugging it towards her and smacking it across the side with her legs in a swooping motion. The figure recoiled before it grabbed her head and smashed it directly into the concrete below.

When she woke up, somehow she was still transformed, she assumed one of the two had dragged her out of the way. She held her head with a groan as she sat up. Her eyes instantly widened.

There, held up by his neck, Chat Noir suspended in air, his claws ripping at the thick ooze as he scrambled to breath in a blind panic. Chloe knelt next to his feet, blood dripping from her mouth as she tore at the leg of the figure, gritting her teeth with a growl before being kicked away, tumbling to the side like a crumpled tissue.  
Ladybug held her head, begging for herself not to pass out, not here. Her ears filled with a distant buzz as her eyes lost focus, blurring in front of her, betraying her capabilities. She could get up. She had to. She let her head drop to the floor.   
Blink once.  
Blink twice.

When her eyes reopened she heard something over the increasing white noise in her ears. Everything around her was a pure angelic white.  
“Marinette please!”  
Where was that voice? It... sounded like...?  
“...Tikki?”  
“Oh Marinette...” The bug Kwami held her face up affectionately “You need to activate the purify power in your Miraculous.”  
“You mean... capture him with my yo-yo?” The blue haired girl slurred slightly, moving her hand up to her head as she felt a sticky warm wetness. Was she bleeding?  
“No Mari... I can perform a more concentrated purify ability, it’ll disarm Gabriel completely and rid him of his powers... but...”  
“But what? We need to do it if so. Quickly! Chat is...”  
“Marinette, you have to sacrifice me.”  
Time halted as the blue haired girl finally managed to focus on the Kwami in front of her, her friend, her teacher... suspended in the air by her small wings as tears began dropping from her eyes.  
“...No... no there’s... there’s got to be another way Tikki. Please... there must be. We can beat him! I know we can...” Marinette felt her throat close as she ducked her head away, eyes burning as she fought against the tears welling up in them.  
“There’s no other way. Please look at me... My Ladybug.”  
“Tikki... no I can’t. What am I without you?” The sobs choked out in small hiccups, drops of tears beginning to stream down her face.  
“You’re still you, with or without the mask. A strong girl who sees the good in all, a stubborn rocket shot who can’t wait for orders and is directed only by the control panel that is her heart.” Tikki smiled softly, shaking her tears away “We have to. You vowed to do whatever it takes.”  
“I can’t lose you Tikki...”   
“I’ll always be with you Marinette, but you have much more to lose than just me... you have to do it for them.”  
Nino.... Alya... Chloe...  
Her family...  
Adrien... all of her friends...  
.  
.  
.  
“For him...” Tikki smiled as they locked eyes.  
Chat noir, and whatever broken boy hid behind the mask like she did.  
“It’s over, isn’t it? Our partnership.”  
“But your life has just begun Marinette.” Tikki rest her forehead “It’s time.”  
“I’m ready.” She wasn’t ready, not yet. Not to say goodbye to her other half for so long. Her teacher and her second mother figure.  
“Goodbye Tikki.”  
“I love you too, Marinette.”

In a moment, the illusion shattered, time breaking back to normal speed around her as she felt a warm glow cover her body. She stepped forward, her hair swarming behind her with every step, growing into long bunches of hair. Her yo-yo split in half, each side enlarging and resting menacingly in her hands. Large bands of black mastery with ancient language wrapped round her arms and large wings sprouted from her back.

The black sludge screeched as the pure light surrounding her alone was enough to drop Chat Noir and stumble backwards.  
“I think you’ve done enough wrong doing for far too long. Filthy Akuma!” Tikki’s voice powerfully boomed from Marinette’s mouth as she dashed forward, punching a hole through the middle, successfully sending him flying before the two voices spoke in complete union.  
“Miraculous! Ladybug!” The two halves were brought back together with a colossal flash of white light and a distant scream.

As the white slowly faded, the night sky cleared above them as Rena, Chat, Carapace and Queen Bee stood together, all relatively unscathed.  
“Ladybugs power’s never usually healed us like this before...” Rena looked herself over as she smiled “Guess she’s getting more powerful.”  
“Yeah dude-“ Carapace started up before a wail of pure terror ripped its way through the celebration.

There, curled up on the cold concrete, sat Marinette. Tears pouring from her face as she cradled the remains of the broken earrings in her hands. Pure silence fell over the group as they slowly pieced together what had happened. She cried and sobbed openly as the rest of the group began to tear up.   
Chat noir’s entire composure fell apart as she looked up at him, so empty, so soft, so... vulnerable. Her hair was beyond messy, unraveling from its elastic cage. Her eyes so puffy and red, the sobs shaking the entirety of her small, frail, frame. The final shreds of her transformation dissolved symbolically in the air around her and there was a moment where he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Plagg, Claws in.” The boy stumbled forwards, collapsing to her height and pulling her flush against his chest. She was so tiny as she clung to his soft white shirt, tears dropping directly into it and soaking the fabric. He shielded her from the incoming cameras with his body as he pulled her impossibly closer.

Paris’ hero had sacrificed everything to save them, to save him. He owed her everything.   
Right now all she needed was to be weak for once... and that was okay too.

~ Fin ~


End file.
